‘What’s Emancipation When We Depend on Colonial Masters for Survival?’- Otumfuo

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II posits that Africa and the Caribbeans are not free after all with the myriad of challenges they are confronted with years after their emancipation from slavery by the West.

He indicates that emancipation in wallowing abject poverty by citizens, dependency on former slave masters and racial abuse does not qualify as true emancipation.

“What’s emancipation when every government in Africa is still struggling against severe odds to lift their people from grounding poverty? What’s emancipation when we are obliged to look up to our colonial masters for support and survival? And what’s emancipation when the descendants of the emancipated slaves still cannot walk the streets of the greatest nations on earth free from fear for their lives?

“What’s emancipation for George Floyd Steve Lawrence and the endless lines of our descendants who have fallen to the feet of racial bigotry across Europe and the United States? And what’s emancipation when even our sportsmen cannot perform without confronting the taints and hates of mobs because of who they are.”

According to him, this kind of emancipation “poses a mortal danger to our humanity” and thereby the need to effect a meaningful impact on the term.

He added, “As we herald the heroes from whose exploits on the global stage we draw inspiration, we see worrying gaps on the mighty titles of business who are shaping the globe today. Where are we in the laboratories from which scientific discoveries are shaping mankind, where are we in the digital world?

“The fortunes of nations and individuals are being transformed daily by new technology and the prospects of Artificial Intelligence, taking control of the global economy. Where are we in the race….our businessmen need to step forward for the myriad of opportunities in the Green economy. To create wealth for themselves, create jobs for others and together create wealth for the nations.”

He on that note urged Africans, and the so-called emancipated slaves to take their destinies into their own hands and forge and secure a befitting future for themselves and posterity.

“We have no choice but to join hands together, work together, think together, plan together {and} pull our resources together to lift our countries out of the distress of the moment into the prosperity of our destiny.”

His Majesty was speaking at this year’s edition of the Emancipation Day celebration in Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday, August 1.

He took the chance to commend the Caribbean nation for giving an international dimension to the Day with its observation as a public holiday and further hailed their founding fathers for efforts towards emancipation.

“We salute the brave men and women of all races who stepped forward to lead the anti-slavery movement whose struggles paved the way to the historic emancipation of August 1st 1834. We also celebrate the heroes in post-emancipation.”

He also appreciated the Prime Minister of the country, Dr the Hon Keith Rowley, for his invitation noting, “Our presence here has helped us to perform a historic duty to pay homage to the 20 million sons and daughters of Africa who were the victims of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade regarded as the most cruel enterprise in human history to salute the heroes and martyrs who through centuries mounted courageous resistance against the enslavement to try and break free from the chains of bondage.”